Crisis club Portsmouth are bracing themselves for a clear-out - even after their transfer embargo was lifted.

The Premier League has cleared bottom-of-the-table Pompey to sign free transfers and loan players during January after they managed to defer some of their debts and repayments.

Portsmouth chiefs are now preparing to offload some of their big-names and top earners, while doing some cut-price deals to help ease the club’s financial crisis.

The first move was completed as former Arsenal trainee, Ghana forward Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, 23, joined on loan for the rest of the season from Spartak Moscow.

Portsmouth's executive director Mark Jacob has publicly admitted there will have to be some departures in January.

England keeper David James, 39, is still wanted by Stoke as the two clubs hope to reach agreement over his £40,000-a-week contract.

Fellow keeper Asmir Begovic could also be on his way as several clubs have eyed him up, and Portsmouth also have Antti Niemi and Jamie Ashdown on their books.

Aruna Dindane is wanted by Blackburn and Stoke, while Frederic Piquionne could also go. On-loan Algerian midfielder Hassan Yebda, meanwhile, could be sold by his parent club Benfica with Roma and Paris Saint Germain interested.

It leaves Pompey boss Avram Grant scratching around for replacements and he would like Tottenham’s Jamie O’Hara to sign up for a second loan spell.

However, Tottenham will want assurances that Pompey will pay O’Hara’s wages as they struggled to do that during his first loan spell which ended last week.